Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135132926X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 415
Book Description
The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai
Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135132926X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 415
Book Description
The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135132926X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 415
Book Description
The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai
Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351329278
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 407
Book Description
The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351329278
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 407
Book Description
The earliest sites at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the best documented and most important for studies of human evolution. This book investigates the behavior of hominids at Olduvai using data of stone tools and animal bones, as well as the results of work in taphonomy (how animals become fossils), the behavior of mammals, and a wide range of ecological theory and data. By illustrating the ways in which modern and prehistoric evidence is used in making interpretations, the author guides the reader through the geological, ecological, and archeological areas involved in the study of humans.Based on his study of the Olduvai excavations, animal life, and stone tools, the author carefully examines conventional views and proposals about the early Olduvai sites. First, the evidence of site geology, tool cut marks, and other clues to the formation of the Olduvai sites are explored. On this basis, the large mammal communities in which early hominids lived are investigated, using methods which compare sites produced mainly by hominids with others made by carnivores. Questions about hominid hunting, scavenging, and the importance of eating meat are then scrutinized. The leading alternative positions on each issue are discussed, providing a basis for understanding some of the most contentious debates in paleo-anthropology today.The dominant interpretive model for the artifact and bone accumulations at Olduvai and other Plio-Pleistocene sites has been that they represent home bases, social foci similar to the campsites of hunter-gatherers. Based on paleo-ecological evidence and ecological models, the author critically analyzes the home base interpretation and proposes alternative views. A new view of the Olduvai sites - that they represent stone caches where hominids processed carcasses for food - is shown to have important implications for our understanding of hominid social behavior and evolution.
Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai
Author: R. Potts
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783110119039
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783110119039
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai
Author: Richard Potts
Publisher: AldineTransaction
ISBN: 9780202363967
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 396
Book Description
At Home in the Netherlands uses a range of indicators to describe developments in the integration of non-Western migrants and their children in the Netherlands. Attention is focused on the situation of non-Western children in education, the position of non-Western migrants on the labour and housing markets, their representation in the crime figures and their degree of socio-cultural integration. The book also looks at civic integration, the mutual perceptions of the non-Western and indigenous populations, and the life situation of young people with a non-Western background.
Publisher: AldineTransaction
ISBN: 9780202363967
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 396
Book Description
At Home in the Netherlands uses a range of indicators to describe developments in the integration of non-Western migrants and their children in the Netherlands. Attention is focused on the situation of non-Western children in education, the position of non-Western migrants on the labour and housing markets, their representation in the crime figures and their degree of socio-cultural integration. The book also looks at civic integration, the mutual perceptions of the non-Western and indigenous populations, and the life situation of young people with a non-Western background.
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science
Author: Todd K. Shackelford
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783319196497
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This comprehensive, twelve volume reference work reflects the interdisciplinary influences on evolutionary psychology and serves as a major resource for its history, scientific contributors and theories. It draws on biology, cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, economics, computer science and paleoarchaeology to provide a multifaceted picture of behavioral adaptation in humans and how it adds to our academic and clinical understanding. Edited by a noted figure in evolutionary psychology, with many seminal and renowned contributors, this encyclopedia offers the full breadth of an area that is the forefront of behavioral thinking and investigation.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783319196497
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This comprehensive, twelve volume reference work reflects the interdisciplinary influences on evolutionary psychology and serves as a major resource for its history, scientific contributors and theories. It draws on biology, cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, economics, computer science and paleoarchaeology to provide a multifaceted picture of behavioral adaptation in humans and how it adds to our academic and clinical understanding. Edited by a noted figure in evolutionary psychology, with many seminal and renowned contributors, this encyclopedia offers the full breadth of an area that is the forefront of behavioral thinking and investigation.
Reconstructing Olduvai
Author: Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0443273839
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
Reconstructing Olduvai: The Behavior of Early Humans at David's Site provides the necessary information for future generations of archaeologists to peer into the lifestyle of early humans. Much of what is known about these hominins originates from the detailed excavations that Mary Leakey carried out at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Since then, work at Olduvai has produced a wealth of new fossils, resulting in the discovery of David's Site, the biggest early Pleistocene site in the world. Its exceptional preservation and size make it an invaluable paleoarcheological finding, and this book details the insights discovered therein about the dietary, technological, and social behaviors of hominins. Written by leaders of present-day excavations at Olduvai Gorge, this book is systematically divided into three parts to deliver a clear account of the research advancements at David's Site. Part I focuses on the presentation of the site and the description of its geological and paleoecological reconstruction. Part II examines hominin feeding habits, including how they brought, processed, and consumed animals at the site. Part III explores hominin technologies, including reconstruction of the stone-tool activities carried out at the site. Reconstructing Olduvai offers a much-needed update to the decades-old monographs focused on Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by providing novel information on the fossils, sites, technologies, and behaviors of early humans. It is an indispensable resource for students, academics, and researchers who share an interest in the evolution of early human behavior.• Describes the discovery and excavation of David's Site (DS) at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania •Details the geological and paleoecological reconstruction of all Olduvai Gorge Bed I sites •Summarizes the impact of taphonomic analyses at Bed I sites on our understanding of early human behaviors •Explores the dietary habits and technologies of early Pleistocene hominins
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0443273839
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
Reconstructing Olduvai: The Behavior of Early Humans at David's Site provides the necessary information for future generations of archaeologists to peer into the lifestyle of early humans. Much of what is known about these hominins originates from the detailed excavations that Mary Leakey carried out at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Since then, work at Olduvai has produced a wealth of new fossils, resulting in the discovery of David's Site, the biggest early Pleistocene site in the world. Its exceptional preservation and size make it an invaluable paleoarcheological finding, and this book details the insights discovered therein about the dietary, technological, and social behaviors of hominins. Written by leaders of present-day excavations at Olduvai Gorge, this book is systematically divided into three parts to deliver a clear account of the research advancements at David's Site. Part I focuses on the presentation of the site and the description of its geological and paleoecological reconstruction. Part II examines hominin feeding habits, including how they brought, processed, and consumed animals at the site. Part III explores hominin technologies, including reconstruction of the stone-tool activities carried out at the site. Reconstructing Olduvai offers a much-needed update to the decades-old monographs focused on Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by providing novel information on the fossils, sites, technologies, and behaviors of early humans. It is an indispensable resource for students, academics, and researchers who share an interest in the evolution of early human behavior.• Describes the discovery and excavation of David's Site (DS) at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania •Details the geological and paleoecological reconstruction of all Olduvai Gorge Bed I sites •Summarizes the impact of taphonomic analyses at Bed I sites on our understanding of early human behaviors •Explores the dietary habits and technologies of early Pleistocene hominins
The Oldowan
Author: Kathy Diane Schick
Publisher: Stone Age Institute Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360
Book Description
The earliest traces of proto-human technology emerged over 2.5 million years ago on the African continent. Called the Oldowan after the famous site of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, these technologies herald a major evolutionary shift in the human lineage. The Oldowan: Case Studies into the Earliest Stone Age provides a critical look at early archaeological sites and their evidence. This volume also shows how a range of probing, multidisciplinary, experimental investigations - including experimental tool-making, comparative studies of ape technologies, biomechanical analysis, and PET studies of brain activity - help us evaluate this tantalizing prehistoric evidence and appreciate its relevance to human evolution.
Publisher: Stone Age Institute Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360
Book Description
The earliest traces of proto-human technology emerged over 2.5 million years ago on the African continent. Called the Oldowan after the famous site of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, these technologies herald a major evolutionary shift in the human lineage. The Oldowan: Case Studies into the Earliest Stone Age provides a critical look at early archaeological sites and their evidence. This volume also shows how a range of probing, multidisciplinary, experimental investigations - including experimental tool-making, comparative studies of ape technologies, biomechanical analysis, and PET studies of brain activity - help us evaluate this tantalizing prehistoric evidence and appreciate its relevance to human evolution.
Stone Tools and Fossil Bones
Author: Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107022924
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 377
Book Description
International archaeologists examine early Stone Age tools and bones to present the most holistic view to date of the archaeology of human origins.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107022924
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 377
Book Description
International archaeologists examine early Stone Age tools and bones to present the most holistic view to date of the archaeology of human origins.
Understanding Climate's Influence on Human Evolution
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309148383
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 128
Book Description
The hominin fossil record documents a history of critical evolutionary events that have ultimately shaped and defined what it means to be human, including the origins of bipedalism; the emergence of our genus Homo; the first use of stone tools; increases in brain size; and the emergence of Homo sapiens, tools, and culture. The Earth's geological record suggests that some evolutionary events were coincident with substantial changes in African and Eurasian climate, raising the possibility that critical junctures in human evolution and behavioral development may have been affected by the environmental characteristics of the areas where hominins evolved. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution explores the opportunities of using scientific research to improve our understanding of how climate may have helped shape our species. Improved climate records for specific regions will be required before it is possible to evaluate how critical resources for hominins, especially water and vegetation, would have been distributed on the landscape during key intervals of hominin history. Existing records contain substantial temporal gaps. The book's initiatives are presented in two major research themes: first, determining the impacts of climate change and climate variability on human evolution and dispersal; and second, integrating climate modeling, environmental records, and biotic responses. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution suggests a new scientific program for international climate and human evolution studies that involve an exploration initiative to locate new fossil sites and to broaden the geographic and temporal sampling of the fossil and archeological record; a comprehensive and integrative scientific drilling program in lakes, lake bed outcrops, and ocean basins surrounding the regions where hominins evolved and a major investment in climate modeling experiments for key time intervals and regions that are critical to understanding human evolution.
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309148383
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 128
Book Description
The hominin fossil record documents a history of critical evolutionary events that have ultimately shaped and defined what it means to be human, including the origins of bipedalism; the emergence of our genus Homo; the first use of stone tools; increases in brain size; and the emergence of Homo sapiens, tools, and culture. The Earth's geological record suggests that some evolutionary events were coincident with substantial changes in African and Eurasian climate, raising the possibility that critical junctures in human evolution and behavioral development may have been affected by the environmental characteristics of the areas where hominins evolved. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution explores the opportunities of using scientific research to improve our understanding of how climate may have helped shape our species. Improved climate records for specific regions will be required before it is possible to evaluate how critical resources for hominins, especially water and vegetation, would have been distributed on the landscape during key intervals of hominin history. Existing records contain substantial temporal gaps. The book's initiatives are presented in two major research themes: first, determining the impacts of climate change and climate variability on human evolution and dispersal; and second, integrating climate modeling, environmental records, and biotic responses. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution suggests a new scientific program for international climate and human evolution studies that involve an exploration initiative to locate new fossil sites and to broaden the geographic and temporal sampling of the fossil and archeological record; a comprehensive and integrative scientific drilling program in lakes, lake bed outcrops, and ocean basins surrounding the regions where hominins evolved and a major investment in climate modeling experiments for key time intervals and regions that are critical to understanding human evolution.
Breathing Life Into Fossils
Author: Travis Rayne Pickering
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
Taphonomy, the study of the processes leading to the fossilization of organic remains, is one of the most important avenues of inquiry in human origins research. Breathing Life into Fossils is a major contribution to taphonomic studies in paleoanthropology and natural history. This book emanates from a Stone Age Institute conference celebrating the life and career of naturalist Bob Brain, a pioneer in bringing taphonomic perspectives to human evolutionary studies. Contributions by leading researchers provide a state-of-the art look at the maturing field of taphonomy and the unique perspectives it provides to research into human origins. This important volume reveals approaches taken to the study of bone accumulations at prehistoric sites in Africa, Eurasia, and America, and provides fascinating insights into patterns produced by carnivores, by hunter-gatherers, and by our human ancestors.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
Taphonomy, the study of the processes leading to the fossilization of organic remains, is one of the most important avenues of inquiry in human origins research. Breathing Life into Fossils is a major contribution to taphonomic studies in paleoanthropology and natural history. This book emanates from a Stone Age Institute conference celebrating the life and career of naturalist Bob Brain, a pioneer in bringing taphonomic perspectives to human evolutionary studies. Contributions by leading researchers provide a state-of-the art look at the maturing field of taphonomy and the unique perspectives it provides to research into human origins. This important volume reveals approaches taken to the study of bone accumulations at prehistoric sites in Africa, Eurasia, and America, and provides fascinating insights into patterns produced by carnivores, by hunter-gatherers, and by our human ancestors.